Toy Price Wars Start As Holiday Season Heats Up

MIAMI - SEPTEMBER 28: Melissa Brunschwig shops for toys at the Toys"R"Us store on September 28, 2010 in Miami, Florida. Toys"R"Us announced today it will hire about 45,000 employees to help with the holiday season. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (CBS 2) – He walks. He swings. He burps.

He’s Big Foot the Monster and he’s one of the super hot toys this holiday season, and he’s just 11 cents cheaper at Wal-Mart than at Target and almost $5 cheaper at Toys R Us.

But with many of the season’s hottest toys, stores are already running out of toys as the price wars heat up, forcing savvy shoppers to be swift and smart, CBS 2’s Magee Hickey reports.

Other super hot toys like the Barbie Video Girl, Furry Frenzies Whirl Around Playground and the Justin Bieber Baby Doll are all similarly priced at the three major toy retails.

As the economy improves every month, there are fewer deep discounts in toys this year, analysts said. Therefore, it’s more like a cold war with the top three worried about running out of toys rather than slashing prices.

There are still sales going on though.

“I’ve already seen pretty good deals when you look in the papers,” shopper Misty Kaczorek said.

Another super hot toy is Stinky the Garbage Truck. This toy is almost a three-way tie in price at $49.99 at both Toys R Us and Target. The toy is just 99 cents less at Wal-Mart.

Shoppers may not be able to find dance star Mickey at the big stores, but he is available at some of the smaller specialty shops like Matty’s Toy Stop.

However, at the specialty shops, shoppers may end up paying more. Mickey costs $24 more, but with plenty in stock, it could make many kids smile on Christmas morning.

And the shots in the price war continue: Wal-Mart now says it’ll be offering several toys for just $10, including some Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and more.